Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketer AB de Villiers played down his unbelievable one-handed catch at the boundary against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.
Fielding at deep mid-wicket, the South African sent back the dangerous Alex Hales by leaping in the air and extending his right hand to pluck the ball out of thin air and leave those watching gasping.
RCB captain Virat Kohli said that was “Spider-man stuff” and “you don’t do that as normal human beings”. Moeen Ali also said it was “an unbelievable catch” and “one of the best I’ve ever seen”. The Englishman added, “When he hit it, I thought [it was going to go for] six, but with AB there you’ve always got a chance. What a grab! He’s an amazing fielder, everybody knows that, and he can do that.”
However, De Villiers did not think too highly of his own effort. “I made it look better than it actually was,” he said in the post-match presentation. “I got into a bad position [to take the catch]. The ball had a bit of a curve on it, so the minute I took the jump I realised it was a little outside of my body and I just had to put my right arm out. Luckily, it stuck.”
De Villiers was rightly adjudged Man of the Match, after his blitzkrieg innings of 69 off 39 balls was crucial in RCB reaching 218/6 in 20 overs, which they managed to defend by 14 runs. Talking about his approach to batting, De Villiers said, “I look to put pressure on the bowlers. We’re all human after all. I’m either going to fall under pressure or they are. So if I get one or two away, I get some momentum going and it gets easier from there.”
RCB are still alive in the IPL thanks to Thursday’s win. They need to also win their final league match of the season, against Rajasthan Royals, to make the playoffs.
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